Tiger Woods answers questions at his news conference during the final practice day for the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament Wednesday in Akron, Ohio. / Mark Duncan AP

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods has two weeks left to shape the rest of his season, one which has up to this point been marred by a bad back and poor play.

Play well and he'll play on. Play poorly and he may have to settle for playing with his kids back home in Florida the next two months.

The former world No. 1, who had back surgery March 31 to alleviate damage caused by a pinched nerve, has played just five PGA Tour events this season and sits in 215th place in the FedExCup standings and 70th in the Ryder Cup points list.

That means if he is to play in the FedExCup Playoffs which begin in four weeks, he essentially needs to average top-3 finishes at this week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club and next week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

If he doesn't play well in either event, he will miss the playoffs. And that would hinder his chances of being one of captain Tom Watson's three picks for the U.S. squad for the Ryder Cup the last week of September.

"Well, I would like to win these two events and not have to worry about anything," Woods said Wednesday before a practice round on the South Course at Firestone. "That's the plan. That's the mindset. That's the focus.

"We'll see how it falls after these few weeks. I'm so far out of it right now that I need to play well to get myself there where I can get myself into the playoffs and ultimately, hopefully, play all four weeks."

If it doesn't fall the right way for him, Watson, who will know the nine automatic qualifiers for the team at the conclusion of the PGA Championship, still could take Woods for the biennial match play tussle with Europe.

But if he doesn't make the FedExCup playoffs, Woods would be off for six weeks before the Ryder Cup â?? unless he chooses to play in a non-PGA Tour event, perhaps on the European Tour.

Despite his poor results â?? his best finish is a tie for 25th this season and he finished 69th in his last start in the British Open â?? Woods' confidence meter spiked as soon as he drove onto the grounds at Firestone.

He has won eight times here, including last year when he shot 61 in the second round and won by seven shots. In 15 appearances, he's made $11.06 million.

"There are certain golf courses, here, Torrey (Pines), Bay Hill, even Augusta (National), no matter what my form is going into that week or on those particular venues, I just somehow feel good," Woods said. "It doesn't mean I'm going to play well, but I still have that feeling. Unfortunately, one year I didn't play very well here. I finished second to last. But other years I've finished first eight times. So that's actually a pretty good stat.

" â?¦ I've had some pretty good memories here. I've had some pretty good rounds and certainly some great moments on this property. Any time I come back here, it's always a good solid feeling."

Woods spent last week on vacation with his two children and girlfriend, Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn.

While he said he grinded on the putt-putt course, he was on the golf course every day working on his game.

"Everything needed to get a little bit better," Woods said. "I've just got to get more efficient at what I'm doing. My good shots are still really good. My bad shots need to be in positions where I know I should miss the golf ball instead of places where I have been missing it.

"There's obviously short sides and fat sides and making sure I miss the ball on the correct side, depending on where the flag is. And that's something that I haven't done as consistently, as well as I'd like to."

Woods has had his back up against the FedExCup Playoffs wall before.

In 2011, he played just eight events as an Achilles injury forced him to miss the U.S. Open and the British Open.

Needing top finishes in the Bridgestone and PGA Championship that year, Woods tied for 37th at Firestone and missed the cut in the PGA Championship. Woods missed the playoffs and didn't play for two months.

"I was in a similar position coming into these last few weeks, having to play well to get myself into the playoffs. At that time, I didn't," Woods said. "So hopefully, this go around I'll be a little bit better."